A Rare Double, Even by the Mets’ Standards, Helps Prevent a Sweep

Bartolo Colon doubled before scoring the second run of his career. The other came in 2002.

Jeff Roberson / Associated Press

By TIM ROHAN

June 18, 2014

ST. LOUIS — There is an old baseball saying that goes something like this: Every day at the ballpark, you might see something new.

What transpired in the Mets’ 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday qualified, and it was a sight to behold. It felt rarer than a no-hitter, more special than a player’s hitting three home runs in a game or hitting for the cycle.

Bartolo Colon doubled.

Yes, Colon bent his knees, swung his hips, reached out his bat and pulled a fastball down the third-base line. He carefully rounded first and jogged to second as his teammates waved towels from the dugout. This was his first hit in nine years. He had only 10 hits in 122 career at-bats entering the game, all singles.

“Take three! Take three!” his teammates shouted, hoping for a triple.

Colon cracked a smile. But he did not have much time to catch his breath: The next batter, Eric Young Jr., doubled, too.

Colon chugged around third, his stomach bouncing as he ran, and cruised home standing up. Colon, listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 285 pounds, took his time walking back to the dugout, where Bobby Abreu fanned him as his teammates laughed.

Here, finally, was a moment of levity in an unforgiving season. The Mets could forget how desperately they needed that hit, which spurred a two-run rally. They could simply marvel at Colon, who held the Cardinals to one run in eight innings as the Mets avoided a three-game sweep.

The Mets had lost 11 of their previous 14 games, and their identity had started to take firmer shape: They could go as far as their starters would take them, hoping for some sort of help from the offense and the bullpen.

That help had been sparing. Entering Wednesday, the Mets ranked 23rd in runs scored, and their bullpen had blown 12 saves.

Colon has been pitching better of late, as if he realized he would have to win all on his own. In his last six starts, including Wednesday’s, he has a 1.66 earned run average, and the Mets have won five of the six games.

Colon made his only mistake Wednesday against Matt Carpenter, who hit a leadoff home run. The game-time temperature was 91 degrees, but as the game wore on, Colon showed no signs of tiring and needed only 86 pitches to cruise through eight innings. The day before, he told Manager Terry Collins, “I’m going nine.”

Again, Colon was defying logic — that someone at his size and his age (41) could pitch so well. Should he continue, the Mets, drifting out of the playoff race, might be forced to consider trading Colon, who signed a two-year, $20 million deal in December, to a contender.

Sandy Alderson, the team’s general manager, made a similar move last year, sending Marlon Byrd and John Buck to Pittsburgh.

In the meantime, though, Collins has repeatedly said the Mets’ goal is to win now. The topic was broached again before Wednesday’s game when Collins was asked about Wilmer Flores, a top prospect who was recently relegated to the bench but ended up starting against the Cardinals.

“We got to start winning — we don’t have time to develop players right at the moment,” Collins said, adding, “Unless the time comes where, all of the sudden, hey, we’re going to go with our young players and get them better, right now we’ve got to try to win some games.”

The offense and the bullpen nearly spoiled Colon’s outing. In the top of the ninth, because the Mets led by only 3-1, Collins replaced Colon with a pinch-hitter.

Jenrry Mejia came in to close the game, but the Cardinals’ Allen Craig hit a two-out, run-scoring single to cut the gap to 3-2. With the potential tying run on first, Collins turned to Dana Eveland, a left-handed journeyman, who got the left-handed-hitting Matt Adams to ground out.

Despite the late drama, Colon remained the center of attention. Through an interpreter, he said he had been sitting on the fastball, which drew laughs from reporters. He said he remembered the only other time he had scored a run, in 2002. He had forgotten his last hit, on June 10, 2005.

Collins stressed the importance of the victory to stop the slide.

As his players left the field, inspired by Colon’s effort, Collins had told them, “Let’s go win 10 in a row.” Now, Collins gushed over Colon’s two sacrifice bunts and the hit.

“I’ll tell you, that’s a big swing for us,” he said, serious as could be.